Image credit: Photo by “thetaxhaven” (July 26, 2012), Flickr
When I say there’s no one I admire more in business or investing than Warren Buffett, I don’t mean to imply that he is perfect; he’s human, and he has plenty of shortcomings. But it’s hard to think of another leader in American business who comes closer to being a model of ethical behavior or who so clearly and consistently stakes out the high ground. I first interviewed Buffett in early 2000, and we met for the first time in 2003. In 2008, he asked me to be on the panel of journalists who pose questions to him and Charlie Munger at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha each year. The Wall Street Journal instructed me to decline the invitation on the grounds that it could create a perception of coziness between Buffett and me (and the Journal). Nothing changed; we still talk and exchange notes (yes, by snail mail!) a few times a year. I always learn something. Here are links to outside resources, plus a compendium of what I’ve written about Buffett over the years.
Resources:
Warren Buffett’s annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
Roger Lowenstein, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
Alice Schroeder, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
Carol J. Loomis, Tap-Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2013
What You Can Learn from One of Warren Buffett’s Smartest Investors